Man gets 5-7 years in slamming death

A Worcester man was sentenced to five to seven years in state prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter in an assault last year that led to the death of 48-year-old Joseph Gubish.

Albert Wheaton, 36, formerly of 765 Main St., Apt. 405B, admitted during a plea hearing in Worcester Superior Court that he assaulted Mr. Gubish during the early morning hours of Jan. 16, 2012, after Mr. Gubish had gotten out of a cab across the street from the People in Peril shelter at 701 Main St.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Casella told Judge Janet Kenton-Walker that surveillance video from businesses in the area and witness statements to police showed that Mr. Wheaton grabbed Mr. Gubish by his face and shoved him to the ground, causing head and neck injuries that resulted in his death three days later when he was taken off life support at UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus.

An autopsy determined that Mr. Gubish died from blunt force trauma to his head and neck that caused injuries to his skull, spinal cord and brain, according to the prosecutor.

Mr. Wheaton told Judge Kenton-Walker during the plea hearing that he suffered from schizophrenia and his lawyer, Michael S. Hussey, said his client’s mental illness “clearly played a role in this act.”

The sentence imposed was recommended by Ms. Casella and Mr. Hussey.

Ms. Casella told the judge that Mr. Gubish’s elderly father, who lives in Pennsylvania, did not wish to provide the court with an impact statement, but indicated he wanted Mr. Wheaton to receive “as long a sentence as possible.” The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 20 years’ imprisonment.

Ms. Casella said she explained the plea agreement that had been reached in the case to the victim’s father and that he understood the joint sentencing recommendation.

Mr. Hussey said the only alternative to a plea agreement would have been to raise an insanity defense at trial, a strategy that he believed had little likelihood of success. Mr. Hussey said he saw the plea agreement as being in Mr. Wheaton’s best interest and described the sentence he and Ms. Casella were recommending as a “fair” one.

Mr. Hussey told the judge he explained to the Liberian-born Mr. Wheaton, who is in the country legally but is not a U.S. citizen, that his conviction could result in his deportation. He said he also told Mr. Wheaton deportation was a possibility even if he were to be found not guilty by reason of mental illness.

Mr. Wheaton was given credit for 431 days he spent in custody awaiting the resolution of his case.